June 7, 2014 3:33pm EDTJune 7, 2014 3:33pm EDTCompeting in the ARCA race to try to get some Pocono experience, Kyle Larson took home the checkered flag at the Pocono 200 on Saturday.Kyle Larson(AP Photo)

Sprint Cup Series rookie Kyle Larson, who has never competed at Pocono Raceway, looked to gain some experience by competing in the Auto Racing Club of America event at the track Saturday.

Larson at least got experience in how to make a winning move, as he led 68 of the 80 laps in winning the Pocono 200. Larson lost the lead on a late restart but was able to pass Mason Mitchell with a little more than three laps remaining.

Watch This

Tenth in the Cup standings for Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson competed in the event in a series that typically features old Cup cars, with races held at a wide variety of racetracks, from dirt tracks to superspeedways. With the Nationwide Series off this weekend, his Turner Scott Motorsports crew went to Pocono to field the ARCA car for him.

That is about all Larson could learn. While the ARCA rules don’t allow for shifting, the NASCAR rules do — something Larson has little experience in doing, which is his main concern going into the Pocono 400 on Sunday.

The Ganassi team actually had him drive a stick shift street car throughout the week to get him prepared.

“It seems like I’m probably the worst shifter of all time in a stock car,” Larson said Friday. “It’s been kind of embarrassing missing a lot of shifts.

“I have to drive a stick shift around town; the team’s making me. … It was funny at first. Now it’s not very funny.”